The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, led by Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, has been working with the private sector to establish cooperatives to help farmers develop agriculture by providing technical assistance from the government and other countries. Triarious Foundation, located in Malta, aims to increase awareness of societal, cultural and political norms and practices in the West of African and Islamic States. The Foundation is interested in investing in the agriculture sector in Equatorial Guinea because of the country’s tropical climate and fertile soil, which can support high-yield agriculture. The country produces a diversity of crops today, including coffee and cacao and other products such as lumber and coconut oil. The country also has extensive coastal fisheries and untapped mineral resources.

Equatorial Guinea has been investing substantially in agriculture projects, including production and preservation of domestic products, throughout the country.

“The production, preservation and processing of domestic products in the country is one of the government’s priorities, not only to supply the markets, but also to enhance the rural labor force and establish rural trade,” said Vice Minister Osa Mongomo. He continued, “The government is implementing numerous projects such as building roads, providing drinking water and electricity to the population.”

The Ministry has also launched a project to replace traditional housing by installing zinc roofs on more than 30,000 houses, in order to upgrade homes in rural areas throughout the national territory.

The new infrastructure projects are part of Equatorial Guinea’s multiyear program to enhance the infrastructure of the country. The government’s Horizon 2020 development plan, put in motion by President Obeying, has made agriculture a central goal, which will drive the country to become an emergent and sustainable economy by 2020.